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FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY - WHAT YOU CAN/CAN'T EAT

During pregnancy you need to make sure that your diet is providing you with enough energy and nutrients for the baby to grow and develop, and for your body to deal with the changes taking place.

What to eat

It's important to try to eat a variety of foods including:

• plenty of fruit and vegetables (fresh, frozen, tinned, dried or a glass of juice). A im for at least five portions of a variety each day
• plenty of starchy foods such as bread, pasta, rice and potatoes - try to choose wholegrain options
• foods rich in protein such as lean meat and chicken, fish (aim for at least two servings of fish a week, including one of oily fish), eggs and pulses (such as beans and lentils).
• plenty of fibre. This helps prevent constipation and is found in wholegrain bread, pasta, rice, pulses and fruit and vegetables
• dairy foods such as milk, cheese and yoghurt, which contain calcium

It's also a good idea to cut down on foods such as cakes and biscuits, because these are high in fat and sugar. This can also help you to avoid putting on too much weight during pregnancy.

Healthy snacks to have instead include malt loaf; currant buns without icing; sandwiches or pitta bread filled with cottage cheese, chicken or lean ham; low-fat yoghurts; vegetable and bean soups; and fruit including fresh, tinned in juice or dried fruit such as raisins or apricots.

VITAMINS & MINERALS

Folic Acid

You should take a daily 400 microgram (mcg) folic acid supplement from the time you stop using contraception until the 12th week of pregnancy.

You should also eat foods containing folate - the natural form of folic acid - such as green vegetables and brown rice, fortified bread and breakfast cereals.

Folic acid has been shown to reduce the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida. If you would like to take your folic acid in a supplement that contains other vitamins, make sure it contains 400mcg folic acid and doesn't contain vitamin A. (See 'What to avoid'.)

If you have already had a pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect, ask your GP for advice

Pregnant women can become deficient in iron, so make sure you have plenty of iron-rich foods. Try to have some food or drink containing vitamin C, such as fruit or vegetables or a glass of fruit juice, with any iron-rich meals to help your body absorb iron.

If the iron level in your blood becomes low, your GP or midwife will advise you to take iron supplements.

WHAT TO AVOID

There are certain foods that you should avoid when you're pregnant, because they might make you ill or harm your baby:
Some types of cheese
Avoid cheeses such as Camembert, Brie or chevre (a type of goats' cheese), or others that have a similar rind. You should also avoid blue cheeses.

These cheeses are made with mould and they can contain listeria, a type of bacteria that could harm your unborn baby.

Pate
Avoid all types of pate, including vegetable. This is because pate can contain listeria.

Raw or partially cooked eggs
Avoid eating raw eggs and food containing raw or partially-cooked eggs. Only eat eggs cooked enough for both the white and yolk to be solid. This is to avoid the risk of salmonella, which causes a type of food poisoning.

Raw or undercooked meat
Make sure you only eat meat that has been well cooked. This is especially important with poultry and products made from minced meat, such as sausages and burgers. Make sure these are cooked until they are piping hot all the way through and no pink meat is left.

Always wash your hands after handling raw meat, and keep it separate from foods that are ready to eat. This is because raw meat contains bacteria that can cause food poisoning.

Liver products and supplements containing vitamin A
Make sure you don't have too much vitamin A. This means you should avoid eating liver and liver products such as pate and avoid taking supplements containing vitamin A or fish liver oils (which contain high levels of vitamin A). You need some vitamin A, but having too much means that levels could build up and may harm your unborn baby. Ask your GP or midwife if you want more information.

Some types of fish
You can eat most types of fish when you're pregnant. But there are a few types you should avoid and some others where you should limit the amount you eat.

Avoid eating any shark, swordfish and marlin. Limit the amount of tuna you eat to no more than two tuna steaks a week (weighing about 140g cooked or 170g raw) or four medium-size cans of tuna a week (with a drained weight of about 140g per can). This is because of the levels of mercury in these fish. At high levels, mercury can harm a baby's developing nervous system.

Have no more than two portions of oily fish a week. Oily fish includes fresh tuna (not canned tuna, which does not count as oily fish), mackerel, sardines and trout.

But remember that eating fish is good for your health and the development of your baby, so you should still aim to eat at least two portions of fish a week, including one portion of oily fish.

Undercooked ready meals
Avoid eating ready meals that are undercooked. Make sure you heat them until they are piping hot all the way through.

Raw shellfish
Avoid raw shellfish when you're pregnant. This is because raw shellfish can sometimes contain harmful bacteria and viruses that could cause food poisoning. And food poisoning can be particularly unpleasant when you're pregnant.

ALCOHOL AND CAFFEINE

When you’re pregnant, it’s best to stop drinking alcohol altogether. But if you do drink, have no more than 1 or 2 units of alcohol, once or twice a week and don’t get drunk.

A unit is half a pint of standard strength beer, lager or cider, or a pub measure of spirit. A glass of wine is about 2 units and alcopops are about 1.5 units.

You should limit the amount of caffeine you have each day, but you don't need to cut it out completely. Caffeine occurs naturally in a range of foods, such as coffee, tea and chocolate, and it's also added to some soft drinks and 'energy' drinks.

It's important not to have more than 300mg a day. This is because high levels of caffeine can result in babies having a low birth weight, or even miscarriage.

So if you eat a bar of plain chocolate and drink 3 cups of tea, a can of cola and a cup of instant coffee in a day, you'll have reached your 300mg limit.

Remember that caffeine is also found in certain cold and flu remedies, so always check with your GP or another health professional before taking any of these

Should I avoid peanuts?

Serious allergies to nuts and nut products and some seeds affect about 1 to 2% of people in the UK. Your baby may be at higher risk of developing a nut allergy if you, the baby's father, brothers or sisters have certain allergic conditions such as hayfever, asthma and/or eczema.

If your baby is in this higher-risk group, you may wish to avoid eating peanuts and peanut products when you're pregnant and breastfeeding.

Gardening and changing cat litter
Always wear gloves when you're gardening or changing cat litter, and wash your hands afterwards. This is to avoid toxoplasmosis, an infection caused by a parasite found in meat, cat faeces and soil. The infection can be harmful to unborn babies.

Foods you don't need to avoid

It can be confusing trying to work out which foods you can eat and which foods you should avoid when you're pregnant. You might find it helpful to look at this list of some of the foods you don't need to avoid:

Shellfish, including prawns - as long as they are part of a hot meal and have been properly cooked
Live or bio yoghurt
Probiotic drinks
Fromage frais
Creme fraiche
Soured cream
Spicy food

Mayonnaise, ice cream, salad dressing - as long as they haven't been made using raw egg. Generally, mayonnaise, ice cream and salad dressing you buy in shops will have been made with pasteurised egg, which means it's safe to eat. But it's better to avoid home-made versions if they contain raw egg. If you're not sure about any of these foods when you're eating out, ask staff for more information

Honey - it's fine for pregnant women but honey isn't suitable for babies under a year old
Many types of cheese including:
Hard cheese, such as Cheddar and Parmesan
Feta
Ricotta
Mascarpone
Cream cheese
Mozzarella
Cottage cheese
Processed cheese, such as cheese spreads

Weight gain

Different women gain different amounts of weight, but this shouldn't be more than 10-12 kilograms or 22-28 pounds over the whole of the pregnancy.

If you gain too much weight this can affect your health and increase your blood pressure. But equally, it's important that you don't try to diet when you're pregnant. If you're concerned about your weight talk to your GP or midwife.

Can you eat herbs? My book says avoid during week 5 but unclear if I can eat them after? I use lots of herbs in cooking and salads and was a bit worried as had never heard this before - thanks for info by the way great to have it in one compact section as can get confusing.

What book are you reading? That sounds a bit odd. I know that it is recommended that pregnant women are careful about herbal supplements and homeopathic remedies but I'm pretty sure you'll have no problems cooking and eating herbs!

Cinnamon

Not sure where I should be putting this thread really but is cinnamon okay to eat as an ingredient. I brought a nutri grain oat baked bar and it has cinnamon in. Not heard anything that you can't eat cinnamon but just wanted to check. Have a good old giggle on me if you think I am being silly asking this lol

Shop salads and mayo

Hi Ladies,

Can you help me please? I was in Morrisons looking at their salad bar and it's the only thing that has really tempted me to eat recently so I'm thinking about getting one on a lunch time instead of eating in an evening...ignore that bit I'm just waffling...

Any way, my question is do you think it safe to eat fresh, premade salad? I watched them. They were using gloves.

Also, they had some nice pasta stuff with bacon and mayo. Do you think the mayo is safe. I know it's fine to eat Hellmanns etc but what about this stuff as I don't know where it comes from?

Am I being too fussy? (I want the answer to be yes so feel free to tell me if I am!)

The salad will be fine, they have to adhere to strict food hygiene standards, so no problems there. Mayonnaise, absolutely fine, supermarkets will not use raw egg to make mayonnaise, it will be something like Hellmanns. So again, no problem.

The one thing you might want to be cautious about is to go to a shop where the turnover at the salad bar is quite speedy, that way you can be sure it hasn't been sat out for hours - which wouldn't be the end of the world but is a sensible precaution for anyone, pregnant or not.

I've read that it's ok in jarred mayo etc, but i bought some GU Choc triffles and have just read (after eating of course!!!!) that the mousse bit contains egg white. DH and i went to the GU website and in their FAQ section they say that their products are made with pasturised eggs but you should check with doctor or midwife.

So i think that should be ok, shouldn't it???

I figure 1 wouldn't hurt, but not sure if i should eat the others or feed them to DH (not that he'll complain!!!! :snigger

unwashed salad?

Hi i have just tucked in to a kebab! i know its not good for me but i fancied it! Now i am scared incase i have eaten unwashed salad and i hope that it hasnt harmed the babies. Do u think i will be ok or am i over reacting?

Can I eat Goats Cheese?????

Hi All

I am so confused over what I can and can't eat during pregnancy. All websites seem to give different information. Is it safe to eat Goats Cheese?? I am going out for my work Xmas meal and trying to pick the menu!!! There is baked Goats Cheese salad on there and want to know if I am OK to eat it???

Hey...I know what you mean...have read conflicting stories myself....I was pretty sure I had read no goats cheese of any sort but then I read no chevre (goats cheese with the rind on) but that most other goats cheese should probably be ok, particularly hard ones (which I was pleased about as one of my faves is a hard goats cheese ). It was the foods standards agency site I read that on.
Having said that.....not sure if the one with the rind would be ok to eat if it has been baked?? I remember going out for a meal with my friend who decided to throw caution to the wind and had some baked goats cheese with salad as she couldn't resist, and was just fine (now has a 2 y old girl) but I am probably more on the 'best not risk it' team....unless I know for sure its ok. Sorry...I have waffled on and been no help what so ever

Its pasteurisation thats the issue, so if the cheese is made from pasteurised milk, then its fine. If not, then the bacteria in it could potentially cause you to have tummy upset, which may possiblty put your baby at risk. If the cheese is baked, then the bacteria will be killed anyway. I must admit, I had some goats cheese salad when I was pregnat with Mooch and she is fine. So I think the answer is, if its pasteurised go ahead, if its not and its cooked at a high temp, then its probably ok.

I am having a similar problem with my works do, the starters are all things I'm not supposed to eat. I have a choice of swordfish, pate or blue cheese, or soup! I'm considering ringing up the restaurant to complain!

Cooked cheeses are definitely ok, even if they aren't pasteurised. You could ask the restaurant to make sure yours is well cooked to put your mind at rest, but I would say you are completely ok. Have fun and eat, drink (soft drinks of course!) and be merry!

I would have said no because it's raw dried meat - although it would probably be fine if it was heated until piping hot - although I'm not sure whether that's what you'd do with it anyway?? Isn't it more like cold beef jerky stuff??

RE: FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY - WHAT YOU CAN/CAN'T EAT

I haven't been posting recently, just a bit of lurking! But it's great to know that you are all here, so helpful, thank you.

Just thought I would update you that the latest FSA guidelines have changed regarding caffeine consumption - they are now recommending a max of 200mgs per day.

I believe that some researchers are now saying that it's best to avoid caffeine altogether because the links between caffeine and miscarriage/low birth weight seem to be getting stronger all the time ... but there really hasn't been a definitive study, so I think that's why the FSA are hedging their bets and just bringing down the recommended amount, rather than saying to avoid caffeine altogether.

Full fat soft cheese

I have been happily munching away on this and suddenly panicked that I shouldn't be eating it. Its full fat soft cheese with cranberries. I think its ok but my friend has just asked if I should be eating it so its got me worried!

Im sorry to bother u - but im full of a stinking cold again an have a really bad sore throat. ive tried lockets and tunes - nothing happening - can i take strepsils .... i know that if i have a strepsil that it will work for me (usually does) but if i leave it, i know it will get worse ... am sick of catching colds .... i had one on my 2ww aswell that lasted a week - an now im 7+ weeks, an i have it again